Halle Berry

[Traps]

The ridiculous amount of ink generated by the Halle Berry "anti-semitic" remark has left a bad taste.

Members of the Jay Leno audience felt obliged to report an "incident" which had been edited from the show.

Within a couple of days hundreds of articles began pouring onto the web regarding this non-event.

In accordance therewith I felt compelled to write this article :

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/traps/2007/10/25/halle-berry-and-the-jewish-joke/

[LisaM]

1. They shouldn't have cut it

If she is going to say something like that, it should be left in.

On, and by the way - the first person to say "Get a life!" loses the argument.

Zorn's Law, Chicago Tribune, May 2006.

[hlthe2b]

3. I don't know if she is anti-semitic, but I've been convinced...

incredibly narcissistic-- every since her Oscar award speech. I am aghast (and also saddened that other African Americans did not call her out) after she dissed previous Oscar supporting actress, Hattie McDaniel (GWTW, 1939). She ignored McDaniel's previous win and accomplishment, in favor of her own, because she did not approve of the role that McDaniel played. Halle's hyper emotional self-aggrandizing speech stood in stark contrast to Denzel Washington's humble, yet dignified speech for best actor, which followed.

I think she is extremely emotionally immature, whatever else may be going on in her life or belief system. Not my favorite, for sure.

[NorthernSpy]

11. she's beautiful

That makes some people inclined to find fault.


:shrug:

[hlthe2b]

12. Good heavens..That is your "substantive" reply to my post?

"that she's beautiful and thus people find fault?" My heavens... I find that an extremely shallow conclusion. An extension of your logic is if someone is attractive, one must forgive them anything they might say... After all, they are "beautiful." :eyes:

[DavidDvorkin]

2. It would have been fine, of course,

if a Jewish guest on the show, referring to a distorted picture that made his lips look huge, had joked that it made him look like his black cousin.

No one would have complained about that, right? And if they had, you'd have told them to get a life.

[NorthernSpy]

14. I'm sure LOTS of people would indeed have told anyone who complained to get a life...

And then we'd have been treated to yet another high-decibel rant about how political correctness is destroying freedom of speech in this country, and how everyone is too afraid to just TALK any more, and how isn't it just a FACT that blacks have bigger lips on average than whites, and how aha! isn't your own reaction proof that you're the REAL racist 'cause you just automatically reacted as if having bigger lips was a BAD thing...

And so on.



What are people really reacting to here? Halle committed three interrelated caste violations:


First, she suggested that Jews are visually distinguishable from nonJewish whites. That's a faux pas, and generally considered evidence of anti-semitism.

Second, she likened the appearance of a Jewish person (the cousin) to that of a non-white person (herself). That's another no-no -- also considered anti-semitism.

Finally, she likened the appearance of white person to that of a black person (actually, she's biracial, but the One Drop Rule is in play here). Whites tend to take caste offense at that, even when the black person in question is beyond gorgeous, and the likenee is nothing special. It calls their whiteness into question, and suggests that they are "tainted" with the blood of a particularly despised pariah group -- which is never, ever appreciated.

[CT_Progressive]

4. Halle Berry ...

... is so freakin' hot.



O.M.F.G.

That is all.

[hlthe2b]

7. gee, and they say some men think with their genitals...

I can't imagine why....:eyes:

Yes, she is lovely, but that is beside the point, don't you think?

[CT_Progressive]

8. I'm sorry, were you saying something?

I was sort of... distracted.

[hlthe2b]

9. at least you are

honest! :rofl:

[hlthe2b]

5. I found it surprising that the OP is from South Africa...

I clicked the link and thought the blog was very professionally composed and was curious, so I checked out the profile, to find they originate from S. Africa. So, now I'm really puzzled at the defense of such an (conceivably unintentional, yet very insensitive) ethnic slur, in the form of a joke by anyone. One would think simply living in a country which has had to examine its own history of racism and bigotry, that the insensitivity would at least be acknowledged....:shrug:

[Phx_Dem]

6. I don't see the uproar over her comment

In fact, this is what I see being written about Berry:

http://digg.com/celebrity/Halle_Berry_s_Boobs_Are_HUGE
http://yeeeah.com/blog/2007/10/25/halle-berrys-boobs-do-the-talking/
http://www.fafarazzi.com/gossip/178196/halle-berrys-boobs-do-the-talking
http://dailyblabber.ivillage.com/entertainment/archives/2007/10/even_halle_berrys_boobs_are_pr.html
http://www.spreadit.org/2007/10/24/halle-berryare-still-blowing-up/
http://infdaily.buzznet.com/2007/10/halle-berrys-got-baby-boobs.html
http://www.lazygirls.info/Halle_Berry/Halle_Berry_Boobs_Blue_25_GKzc9ji
http://news.trendaz.com/cgi-bin/readnews2.pl?newsId=1042278&lang=EN
http://jampot.web-log.nl/girls/2007/10/halle_berrys_gr.html

[Darkseid69]

10. Nothing wrong

in stating the obvious.

Pretending they don't exist doesn't mean they aren't there.

[Dr. Strange]

13. And here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7069943

Not that there's anything wrong with that...